As you know Beth and I are looking to our future down here in Mexico and are trying to determine where the Lord would have us serve Him long term. During this time we have considered many of the different areas of ministry that the Lord has opened up to us as potential avenues of service. We have investigated and considered the different church planting teams and endeavors happening throughout Mexico, as well as the national training centers.
Because of this, I made another trip down to Mexico City a couple of weekends back to understand what the current needs are for teachers in one of NTM-Mexico’s two Bible Institutes. I had heard that there was a Spanish language Bible Institute in Mexico City and that there were some exciting things happening down in the area, but was unsure about it’s current needs for staff because I knew that another couple had recently joined the team down there.
When we inquired about the needs at the Bible Institute in Mexico City, we heard back quickly that they were in need of new families joining them. We learned of some of the exciting things happening in the area and the high interest there was in our mission’s endeavors in the surrounding area. I asked about visiting sometime and was told they would be eager to have us come down and check things out to consider if this was where the Lord would have us. I was even invited to consider coming down for their Missions Day / “Día de Misiones” which took place the weekend before last. It was last minute, but I would be able to rub shoulders with some of the former alumni of the school as well as potential students at that time. I was also invited to share about our time serving in Papua New Guinea.
It didn’t work out for the entire family to go because of the short notice but we decided that it seemed like a good opportunity for me to head down and check things out. I promised Beth I would take lots of pictures for her! 🙂 It was a great visit and I was able to get a lot of our questions answered about the ministry going on down there.
Bible Institute in Mexico City
The Ospina and Tibberts families are the two families working in Mexico City with the Bible Institute. This Bible Institute has been a huge success in the past, having trained many young people in the Scriptures and challenging them to consider cross-cultural missions. Many of the students have either gone on to the next level of missionary training, gotten involved in local ministries or are still planning on going with the mission. It was very exciting to see the passion of the young people down there in being trained in the Word and going out in missions. Even the churches I visited during my time there are committing themselves to sending these potential missionaries to wherever the Lord sends them. This is HUGE and so encouraging!
The current challenge for the school is to meet the high level of interest with limited staff and facilities. The Bible Institute and our mission down here in Mexico are currently raising funds to build a new facility for the school. Also, there is a need for more staff for the school who can carry the weight of discipleship and Bible teaching.
If we were to join the team in Mexico City, we would be joining as staff for the Bible Institute.
“Día de Misiones” – Mission’s Day
Over the Saturday I was down in Mexico City, the school hosted “Día de Misiones” a day for young people to come and be challenged with the needs of cross-cultural missions among the world’s unreached people groups. There were over one hundred students and it was exciting to see their own excitement for what the Lord could do through their lives worldwide. The day included various speakers, former students at the Bible Institute, missions videos, skits and special music.
I had a cool opportunity to chat with a couple of high school students who were so eager to one day attend the school that they could barely contain their excitement. They left the day with applications in hand and a plan to enroll as soon as possible!
It was a privilege to be one of the speakers for this day, though it was a huge stretch for me because of my Spanish. I had spent the week and a half prior to my visit preparing for this time. I think it really helped my Spanish, but I still have a long way to go!
Overall, my time down there was very enlightening and encouraging. I had the opportunity to visit two churches, meet many new brothers and sisters in Christ and spend time seeing the area and getting to know briefly the families serving down there.
After one church service a man came up to me and said he wanted to share something with me. He told me that there is such a hunger for discipleship in Mexico City but a lack of disciple-makers. He had personally been impacted by the team and the ministry down there that when he had heard that I had come down to check things out, he wanted to personally encourage me to pray about coming down and serving on the team.
It was a good visit and I am very thankful to the Lord that the timing worked out to be involved in the mission’s day. We are excited to consider a future serving in Mexico City (though to be clear, we are still exploring other options as well). There are some practical complications that would need to be sorted out if we are to really consider moving down there, for example, the cost of housing is more and the kids schooling at an international school would also cost more than we can currently afford. However, if it is where the Lord would have us, then we can trust in His provision! Please pray for our family as we consider our future full time ministry in country of Mexico!
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